Ukraine might buy Slovak 155mm artillery with a range of 40 km
BRATISLAVA, ($1=0.92 Euros) — Slovakia and Ukraine are negotiating the purchase of a 155mm self-propelled howitzer Suzana 2 from Kyiv. The initiative comes from Bratislava, which offers Kyiv the “last heavy weapon” produced by the Slovak defense industry. The talks were confirmed by Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad.
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The online portal DennikN writes that if the deal is completed, Slovakia will have made the largest export to the Slovak arms industry in 30 years. BulgarianMilitary.com reminds us that the Slovak production of tanks and combat vehicles has long since ended [in the 1990s], but Suzana 2 is a project that has received funding from the state. The only customer of this self-propelled howitzer is Greece, which bought 12 units but donated them to Cyprus.
The Zuzana and Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers are licensed production of the Czechoslovak DANA howitzers, which was a 152mm howitzer but was upgraded to 155mm by Western standards.
Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzer
Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzer [SPH] has been in service with the Slovak army from the late 1990s until today. Apart from Slovakia, Cyprus is the other operator of this howitzer model.
The Slovaks describe this howitzer as “a cannon mounted on a Tatra truck that can shoot over a hill”. It weighs just over 28 tons and has a total length of 13 meters. The chassis is a modified Tatra 8×8. The crew of Zuzana 2 consists of three soldiers. With a single refueling of the fuel tank, the howitzer can travel a maximum distance of 750 km. Top speed is just over 80 km / h [50 mph].
The weapon of the self-propelled howitzer consists of a 155mm main gun, 52 calibers. The initial number of ammunition loaded with the cannon is 40 projectiles, and the howitzer can fire six of them in one minute. Loading projectiles in Zuzana 2 is completely automatic. The maximum operational range is 40 km, the most effective range is 33 km, and the minimum operational range for hitting a target is just over 5 km. The turret traverse is 360 ° and the elevation / depression is + 70 ° / -3,5 °.
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